How about it? It is May 29, 2013 and the last time I blogged was January 1, 2013. So much for good intentions! I’d love to tell you all that this mom has been spring cleaned in the many, many days since her last post. That too would be silly! It hasn’t been such a bad year so far though. After hitting the 20 lb post-surgery mark, I joined Weight Watchers and lost half of those pounds. The switching of doctors to one who has me on a better pain-control regimen has resulted in more exercise. The acceptance of the fact that full-time employment and mothering are just barely compatible has also helped reduce my stress levels. I think I am finally heading towards a better place for me!
So what’s next on the agenda? More weight loss would be great. I have been enjoying a great book called “The Blue Zone” by Dan Buettner. It is an interesting look at some small communities which have an unusual number of centenarians amongst them. I haven’t quite finished yet, but the overwhelming thing that jumps out at me is that most of these folks are vegetarians, or rarely eat meat. I have often wondered what the data tells us about the health of vegetarians vs. meat eaters. I am not sure that “The Blue Zone” is exactly a scientific thesis, but it is interesting just the same. A meatless diet is also very conducive to weight loss. Do you see where I am going with this? There is just one major obstacle for me – I LOVE MEAT. And so does my family. I am definitely not a slab of steak kind of girl and prefer smaller pieces of meat to great chunks of it, but I do enjoy meat. On the upside, I also love vegetables and if I was on my own, I don’t think I’d have much trouble at all to convert to a meatless diet. Instead, I am trying to formulate a plan to reduce the amount of meat that my whole family eats. To be honest, we aren’t huge meat eaters so we won’t have to make big adjustments, but there isn’t much easier than grilling a hotdog when there are not enough hours in the day!
So in my first attempt to substitute meat, I decided to buy various products and try them out on me. I have discovered some wonderfully delicious veggie burgers in the frozen section of my supermarket. I actually think my husband and boys will like them. These will be a great substitute for those nights when we do the horribly unhealthy processed chicken patties and oven fries. When I joined Weight Watchers, I cut out potatoes. I have added back a tiny bit, but I need to find a substitute for fries. I don’t even like oven-baked fries unless they are made from potatoes that I cut up. But alas, my husband and one of the kids, love them.
Snacking is my downfall. I get the 4 PM munchies every single day. So far, I have found nothing that works to curb them. Sure, I ignore them at times, but if I reach for something salty at that time of day, I am in big trouble. I cannot bring myself to eat fruit at this time of day. It doesn’t do it for me. So I need ideas – lots of them. Added to my fruit woes is the fact that I have some fairly severe tooth sensitivity going on. So if you add fruit plus cold together, I cannot eat it comfortably. Since we are heading in to summer, fruit doesn’t do well on the kitchen counter, and if any of you know me well by now, you know I am not organized enough to take fruit out of the fridge so that it warms up by an appropriate time for me to eat it!
So there you have it. I am a meat-loving, veggie-eating, salt-craving, fruit-hating mom.
springcleanedmom 